Luck O' the Irish: Time to Invest in Ireland?

3/11/2013 10:59AM

St. Patrick's Day is a lucky day for the Irish, but would investing in the Irish economy bring investors luck? IDA Ireland executive vice president Patrick Howlin looks at Ireland's economy and the prospects for profits at the end of the rainbow. Photo: AP.

This transcript has been automatically generated and may not be 100% accurate.

... I ... jewel Hyland actually I was I was on the ... spot myself almost all the ... on nothing ... he has a penchant is coming up the look of the Irish will be with us all on Sunday ... is the law the Irish with you too can invest in Ireland Ireland ... coming back we all know about whats been going on in Europe the last few years Spain Greece Portugal Ireland ... island of turning around we have with us Patrick Holland was the executive vice president ... and director of the North American operations ITA Ireland right which is via ... the government agency ... yet as the German development engine right for foreign direct investment into all the time and we all know the whole story the euro zone crisis on to ... win other than the painful steps that Ireland took to deal with their own crisis ... where are you guys now in this ... day I think the ... I'm ... Irish economic ... and financial problems of the last five years and the most documented ... but it is a pretty fair to say that we have had made ... I he's recognize that we've made significant progress and indeed achieve significant momentum in beginning to turn the situation around ... the Dutch economy has returned to modest growth in indebted GDP growth of maybe one to two percent ... exports are really strong growing up I five to six percent from a more on track to achieve two percent of budget deficits ... that were ... on track to get back into the bond market ... so I think there's there's there's tremendous walked on in in in terms of getting us back on on the right track what ... they referred to as vocal where were we are not complacent about the re issue of recovery and the ... rate of progress ... in all there is the isthe SIC if there's a lot going on more to do this I'm obviously there's still some some difficulties to be overcome ... it's a snow Paulson some some sections of of of the arch people are still ... in awe in some difficulty and suffering throughout the the the post of the we have ... a concrete plan ... to actually come out the other and ... yet ... now EIX Portuguese team engineering words they've been coming back multinationals are there and ... everyone was so it seems that religion after ... all a ... lot of the Proms in Ireland or Proms other countries faced ... by the ... high unemployment rate is still out of the struggling housing sector ... to tidy transfer that the surge in export industry ... to the domestic economy ... I think it's and it's a combination of of of of a number of things called ... I think one of the cornerstones ... in our time for a recovery ... that I'm one of the cornerstones of our kind of economic policy is based around ... a trade and investment by the trade data security around the key exports and we talked with exports growing ... book is also significant Investment ink and face the same time ... his investment by the government and the education and skills that provision and we've always invested in in education since since the nineteen sixties ... I've that is investment in the ... infrastructure defeated in the country critique Lee for example right now ... the communications infrastructure on all the items ... and is mobilized into the economy that's that's by confirm ... the significant investment for example going into I'm researching development in science and technology recently ... I've government announced goals to half a billion ... dollar investment in industry and academic research collaboration ... so this is a whole lot of investment like that that is the isthe is needing to ... add the creation of jobs ... and the FDI sector though not chair ... in all do with something like twelve Matthew thirteen thousand new jobs created in that sector bets on a small part of the economy but still it's progress in terms of of of employment creation ... I know and when you when the crisis going on in the ... plan the village was a lot of great being from your neighbors across the pond there ... about your corporate tax rates very low rate they wanted you receive you resist resist it ... his daddy told because I think anyone is inching in investing in a market that is at a closed issue in terms of whether or not Ireland would raise the corporate tax rate ... guesses as far as we're concerned at the ... if you all of our corporate tax rate ... is one which is a agreed amongst our our EU partners is recognized ... in the OECD and and and on throughout the international ... community ... one thing it is fair to say why there's there's there's frequently a lot of focus on the twelve ... percent grade for four on and ... it's not really the only reason why companies invest in Ireland ... in fact its don't be it's on the pecking order in terms of of due diligence that that that that companies would do and looking for an international commission ... on the drivers around investment in Ireland ... are all full we called the four keys ... there is the product availability ... if that's one of the key pieces in terms of all four companies would need to co operate their business ... there is a significant track record on foreign investment in on going back over forty years in the softest of companies there ... that have found this to be a profitable and successful location for investment over many years ... as is the editor on we invest significantly in technologies of companies have access to the dentist acknowledged ... authority in many ways one goals things tackle and postings are are in line with what the company needs for new investment ... at the track section eight comes into play at that point in time ... so it is a key part of all the ... gardens value proposition one which reported in India and will always defend ... what it's not the only reason why why companies are coming for iOS Corps and interfering in the years since ... I think tourism is is is bouncing back now ... I'm and they've been there with them and the magic finger I think it last year and I don't have a draft of my head but it was a was like the magic million one million visitors where where where are ... recorded as as as coming into our tent ... tourism is now and all items have propositions were out so when when when visitors come to our that ... they're they're visiting the whole night and ... I and that this year in particular we have ... a program called the gathering former invite the whole Irish people anywhere ... on any connection all over the world ... to come to Ireland and say oh it's ... hard to say I'm half Irish grandmother on my mother's side to me or